After severe storms and floods, the Federal Foreign Office issued a travel warning for Italy on Thursday.
Rome/Berlin – Some politicians in Italy speak of a storm "apocalypse". The violent storms and rains have caused chaos in the southern European country. Now the Federal Foreign Office has also reacted.
Since Thursday, May 18, Annalena Baerbock's ministry has been explicitly warning German holidaymakers and travelers on its homepage of the consequences of "extreme weather, floods and the risk of landslides" in Italy. Literally, it says: "Due to persistent, sometimes heavy rainfall and violent thunderstorms, restrictions are to be expected throughout Italy".
Severe weather in Italy: Federal Foreign Office issues travel advice
Particular caution applies in the two regions of Emilia-Romagna and Sicily. The Emilia-Romagna around the capital Bologna has so far been one of the hardest hit by the floods. Accordingly, the Foreign Office says: "There is a risk of flooding and landslides in the interior of the country". Along the entire coast in central and southern Italy, there are also warnings of "storm surges". "Many roads are impassable and there are restrictions in regional rail traffic," the ministry said.
Over ten thousand residents in the affected areas of the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy have been evacuated and around a hundred severe landslides have been reported. The Formula 1 race at Imola scheduled for Sunday has been cancelled.
Severe flooding in Italy - chaos after storms
In the region, 23 rivers burst their banks between Tuesday and Wednesday, 36 cities and towns were flooded, and 48 local governments reported landslides. Two more bodies were found in the area of Ravenna in central Italy on Thursday, authorities and police said on Thursday. According to media reports, it is said to be a 70-year-old farming couple who were found dead in their flooded apartment. The total number of fatalities from the floods thus rose to eleven.
Catastrophic scenes on Tuesday afternoon in the city of Cesena. © IMAGO/Bernd März
Many residents in the Emilia-Romagna region had to escape to higher floors or to the roof of their houses. According to the vice-president of the region, Irene Priolo, "more than 10,000 people" have been evacuated. On Thursday, authorities in Ravenna ordered the immediate evacuation of the three villages of Villanova di Ravenna, Filetto and Roncalceci after the Lamone River burst its banks. 50,000 residents of the disaster region were without electricity on Wednesday, according to the civil protection authority. (rjs/dpa)
Transparency note: An earlier version stated that the Federal Foreign Office had issued a travel warning. This is not the case. It is a travel advice intended to draw attention to the special situation on site.